We plan our worship services several months in advance. We choose themes for each service and discuss how to introduce them.

Last Sunday, our chosen theme was “Our Good God.”

In the canon of worship themes we use, the goodness of God is not as difficult to explain as something like transcendence or immanence. But on Sunday, July 6, 2025, it was hard.

As we filed into the church and greeted one another, nearly 100 people were still missing due to flash floods in Texas. Tragedies happen, and they are all difficult—but this was different. Twenty-seven girls and counselors were still missing from Mystic Camp[i], a Christian camp along the banks of the Guadalupe Wash.

Read the rest of this post here: Sometimes, Worship Should Be Hard – Proclaim & Defend or just listen to the podcast.

Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe